Many of you are aware I don’t really care about Valentine’s Day. I think it’s an over glorified day with no real symbolic importance, well except for the over indulgence, and ooh the all day and night orgy people hold with unfortunate girls in the name of love, seriously is drinking and having sex on the beach anywhere near love?. Well I haven’t always been this detached from Valentine, indeed as a young boy I was very much swayed by the frenzy….read on.
I had walked to one of the dedicated red valentine shops that miraculously pop up to do vlaentine business. I was in BIHECO by then and seeking very much to impress or suprise or both my OLA flame or crush. I picked up a big white teddy bear, the one with a red ribbon around the neck and a heart symbol on its chest with the inscription “be my val”. Oo boy was I feeling good in myself. Armed with my 10 Cedis (then 100, 000) I was feeling particularly rich by my standards.
I walked to the cashier beaming with blessedness, hugging my prize like it was the girl, blushing for the older lady must have known I was in love (or whatever that was). She smiled at me, looked curiously at me in my blue school uniform and am sure wondered whether I could pay for it. Let me add that iaman never knew the fluffy little teddies were expensive. She finally blurted our the damn thing costs 65 cedis (than 650,0000)!
Fine beads of perspiration, broke on my forehead, fine tremors developed in my legs, I had never had that kind of money before. I tried as best as I could to maintain my cool as I pretended to be looking for my wallet that I was supposed to have left somewhere. I excused the lady, dropped the prize like a bag of potatoes and rushed out of the shop. I screamed ” tweaaaa” to no one in particular and kicked an empy box in my path.
At the end I settled for a well written letter, on a perfumed writing pad and a cute envelope. Love is so sweet in the ancient of days. Who ever brought that teddy bear idea?!, you nearly gave me a stroke!
Remember love cannot be confined to a day, love is work in action every single day, all year, almost everything people do to show love today is just to satisfy their aching loins. Be the difference and don’t forget to stay safe. You loose all your inhibitions today only to wake up tomorrow, drunk, tired, used and abused, you don’t even know where your underwear is, some randy guy has taken it as a trophy, it is then reality will dawn on you, when it’s already too late, and you’re most likely a dump of unwanted babies and unsolicited passion. Be smart. God be with you.
Your Valentino,
James Mawuli Gawu.
